Back in Black

ACTOR-DIRECTOR Sachin Pilgaonkar wants to set a record true — a latest Marathi blockbuster Katyar Kaljat Ghusali is not his quip film. He has been bustling directing and behaving in a fibre of renouned Marathi films for decades. In between, he has found adequate time to slit his way, with his mother Supriya, to a tip container of a existence uncover Nach Baliye in 2005; approach a exile success Tu Tu Mein Mein (1994-2000) on radio and, of late, debate with Asha Bhosle as her co-singer in her concerts in India and abroad. Yet, he concedes, that for a initial time given he finished his entrance during a age of 4 in a Marathi film Ha Maza Marg Ekla (1962), he is tampering with his friendly picture in Katyar Kaljat Ghusali. In this Subodh Bhave-directed duration drama, Sachin is Khansaheb Aftab Hussain Bareliwale — a maestro, who manipulates his approach to reinstate his benefactor, played by Shankar Mahadevan, as a stately singer.

With Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, Sachin annals another first. In a career travelling 52 years, a chocolate-faced actor, popularly famous by his initial name Sachin, is personification a impression comparison than him. “Because of my looks, we have always played characters younger than my age. In this movie, however, we play a 70-year-old singer,” says a 58-year-old. Ace make-up artist Vikram Gaikwad has been instrumental in creation him demeanour older. Being a singer, Sachin has brought an flawlessness to his impression with a bargain of a vocalist’s physique language. That apart, he has oral usually in Urdu in a movie.

Sachin is one of those singular actors who speaks Urdu fluently. He gives yesteryear singer Meena Kumari a credit for this. “On a sets of Majhli Didi (1967), Meena apa beheld that we pronounce Hindi with a Marathi accent. She asked me how mostly we spoke Hindi. When she came to know that we conversed in Marathi during home and we spoke in Hindi usually when we was on a sets, she asked me revisit her Janki Kutir home 4 times a week. She even used to send her automobile to fetch me. We used to play list tennis for an hour and afterwards she used to learn me Urdu for another hour,” he says. Once, when a nine-year-old Sachin got wearied and wanted to continue playing, she told him: “It doesn’t matter if we can’t review or write Urdu but, as an actor, we should pronounce a denunciation well.” Today, Sachin can’t appreciate his Meena apa enough.

In a late ’60s and early ’70s, Sachin became a domicile name as a cherubic child actor. “I played lead characters in cinema such as Bachpan (inspired by The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) and Chanda Aur Bijli (based on Oliver Twist). we was never expel as a hero’s younger self or heroine’s brother,” he says.
Though a early ’80s brought him success as a heading actor with Geet Gata Chal (1980) and Nadiya Ke Paar (1982), eventually there were fewer tasty roles for him. “Hindi filmmakers had to find a suitable theme for me and that became a limitation,” he says. He found success in Marathi films with Navri Mile Navryala (1984) and Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi (1988).

“I have had low phases. Since we am fundamentally confident by nature, we cruise by each kind of situation,” says Sachin. At a time when he was too aged to letter a child’s impression and too immature to be expel as an adult, he veered towards entertainment and acted in 3 Marathi plays. During this phase, that lasted 3 years, he assisted director-editor Hrishikesh Mukherjee in modifying 3 of his landmark cinema — Anand (1971), Namak Haraam (1973) and Chupke Chupke (1975).
Basking in a success of Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, that warranted Rs 7 crore in a initial week, Sachin wants to finish his circle. “After dabbling in so many things, we wish to persevere some-more time to acting. we wish to take adult roles that are substantial. we wish to play those characters in Bollywood that we have not finished compartment now,” he says. The purpose that tops his wish list is that of a hardcore villain, that he wants to execute but a assistance of most make-up or emotion. This would be a fitting quip for a actor, who was edged out of Hindi cinema with a arise of “angry immature man”.

Sachin — who once felt constricted by his looks and tallness — says in jokingly that it’s not satisfactory that, after he changed to Marathi films, a not-so-tall heroes came forward.